President’s Star Charity Show- is there a need for artistes to perform stunts to milk the public’s compassion for more generous donations?

The President's Star Charity Show - something most Singaporeans are familiar with, with it incorporating numerous television celebrities and aired every year, for the sake of charity. Many Singaporeans punctually tune in to watch this heartstopping and exhiliarating programme, as they watch their favourite television stars attempt the unthinkable, far from what they are used to: actors and actresses safe within the film set, acting out their assigned roles, all within a danger-free environment. These seemingly death-defying stunts thus bring in the cash for the charities, with stay-at-home Singaporeans applauding the bravery and commitment of these celebrities and donating their hard-earned money for a better cause. However, this raises a controversial question - is there a need for artistes to perform stunts to milk the public's compassion for more generous donations?



We couch-potatoes view the programme as a never-failing source of entertainment, with artistes from the various industries making their long-awaited appearance to charm their fans with their amazing talents, such as music. We tend to forget the main purpose of organizing such an event - no, it isn't to satisfy consumer demand for thrill and action. It is for the purpose of raising funds for charity, to aid those that are in the midst of financial turmoil, and desperately need this help. Many a time when we dial in to donate money, it is due to the challenging act that the artiste just performed, which leaves us in awe and compells us to donate money so as to "support charity and the event". In reality, who are we actually supporting? The poor and the unfortunate, or the artiste? We as Singaporeans should really ponder upon this issue. Such a mindset is rampant in Singaporean society, where the notion of 'talent should be rewarded' is strongly put forward by the Singaporean Government, resulting in the subconscious inculcation of such a frame of mind in the masses through various implemented policies and organized events.

The adoption of the correct mindset is important and extremely vital towards the healthy and continuous growth of society. Such a way of thinking can spill over to many other aspects of society. The correction of this is important. Aiming towards having a heart should top the list of priorities, instead of judging something's value with extrinsic thoughts in mind.

Where there is an actual need for these artistes to perform stunts in order to milk the compassion of the audience, I personally feel that with the current situation, this need is not justified. There are many other ways of expoliting one's compassion, such as showing clips of those unfortunate residents in Singaporean society, and this alone will be able to bring in the cash from many Singaporeans. However, to maximize profit, exciting, thrilling shows can be performed in order to excite those that overlook the need for these unfortunate residents to recieve financial aid. With reference to the question - do artistes have to perform to milk GREATER donations? Absolutely. With the current mindset predominant in Singaporean society, without such acts that stimulate the subconsious desire to donate hard-earned money, donation ratings will definitely plummet. This exemplifies the need for Singapore to work towards having a heart. The best way to start its cultivation, is to do it right at home, right in Singapore.

Such an event can serve to benefit all three parties - namely the audience, the performers and the beneficiaries. To start of, let us talk about the performers. For them to carry out such dangerous and over-the-edge stunts helps to develop an intrinisic feeling of accomplishment and happiness, that they did their part for the social benefit of the beneficiaries, and that their act was pivotal to the well-being of these people in the near future. For the audience, a greater and deeper insight into the plight of such beneficiaries taps on Aristotle's Pathos of 'Rhetoric'. The greater the exposure, the higher the chances of compassion welling up to form a vast flow of donations. Extrinsic effects aside, such an approach generates ideas in the people- that there was a possible channel for them to utilize in order to help the unfortunate in their own way, besides the Star Charity show. For the beneficiaries...let us say that the benefits are obvious.